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Okay, okay – so what if I’m strutting like I’m Cock of the Roost, King of the Hill, Lord Muck … I’m acting as if I’ve actually written a book, instead of just naming one.

Forgive me this moment of joy as the book in question is all about whisk(e)y cocktails, a subject you know I love, and is written by Jesse Estes, who I also think very highly of.

From Dram to Manhattan is published by Ryland Peters & Small and the press suggests you “shake, stir, and mix your way to whiskey and bourbon connoisseur status with award-winning bartender Jesse Estes as he demonstrates how to tame these fiery spirits in 40 delicious cocktail recipes.”

It’s not wrong. Just a quick flick though some the hard-backed 64 pages and you’ll find a mixture of classics like Blood and Sand (one of my faves), to drinks like the Cereal Milk Punch, which just makes me want to start drinking in the morning. When I say it’s surprising detailed for such a tidy volume, I mean it. Folks it has 12 pages dedicated to Manhattans (and their ilk) alone. This book is no slouch.

So, who should read Jesse’s book? I think it’s best placed in the hand of the cocktail enthusiast – be they starting off making drinks at home, looking to up their game, or for the more experienced cocktailian who wants a small but detailed pocket book of inspiration and reminder close to hand.

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Last week I woke up to this message from all round gentleman Kevin Hurley, Global Brand Ambassador for Teeling Whisky (for context, read this):

“Gents, with both of your gracious permissions I would love to start promoting the ‘Mark of Respect’ as a Teeling cocktail in an official capacity. First up at two guest bartending shifts I will be doing (Fools Gold NYC and at Bar Anaan for Paris cocktail week) further to this I would wish to suggest it to accounts as a Teeling suggested serve for their drinks menus. I would be sure to credit both John as the creator and Mark as the inspiration in all correspondence around the drink. Would this be ok with you both? “

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I’m a 36 year old man and I can’t cook. It’s pathetic. I can make cocktails and this, plus the kindness of long suffering friends, girlfriends and wives, has allowed me to go through life without dying of hunger.

But times have changed. I asked my friend and colleague Toby to help me. He wrote the following cooking guide for the drinks lover – all his words, in his style.

And it worked. I am now cooking!

The Two Page Mark Cooking Guide™

The Oven

It’s only got one setting that matters, it’s the one with the fan the makes it get hot. Anything with pigeon spikes is a distraction.

Yes, the top shelf is hotter. No, it doesn’t matter.

230 degrees == Nice and hot. Beginning of a roast.

180 degrees == General Hot cooking temperature for all of the things

130 – 150 == The rest of a roast, general slow cooking. ‘forget about it cooking’

The Hob

You know this one. It’s mostly used for bacon, but many things have a home on the hob.

As John says … “This tipple was invented during the 2014 Dublin Web Summit, when the the gentleman Scot Mark Kieran Jennings (@markofrespect) walked in to the bar that was harbouring me at the time, slammed his hands in the counter and yelled in a husky, authoritative voice: “Bartender, Teelings please!”. It is also a tipple that was involved in getting me a job in The Liqour Rooms, and will be on the new drinks menu in said venue in August.”

UPDATE September 2015

Oh, and as an update … here it is available from The Liquor Rooms, Dublin!! – here is their menu.

UPDATE November 2015

It’s on the menu at the Teeling Distillery! Where next??

UPDATE December 2015

Cocktail geek alert. Here’s Julio Bermejo the inventor of the Tommy’s Margarita taking a MoR home to San Francisco, and leaving a Tommy’s with John Norrman to give to me. Cocktail geek to the max.